


Go For the Heart

by Bookwormpride



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Canon Lesbian Relationship, Canon Non-Binary Character, Canon-Typical Violence, Catra got therapy, Double Trouble isn’t actually in this but their influence sure is, F/F, Future Fic, Gen, Next Generation, Original Character(s), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Alternating, Past Child Abuse, Post-Canon, Pre-Canon, Shadow Weaver | Light Spinner (She-Ra)'s A+ Parenting, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-30
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:46:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 16,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26721616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bookwormpride/pseuds/Bookwormpride
Summary: After accidentally transporting themself back in time to the Fright Zone of their moms’ childhood Finn must try to blend in while waiting for an opportunity to get home. Adora and Catra are frantic to find their baby and bring them back. Shadow Weaver thinks she can use this to her advantage
Relationships: Adora & Catra & Finn | Adora/Catra Child (She-Ra), Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 85
Kudos: 304





	1. Chapter 1

The inside of the ancient temple was dark when the sparkle from Luminas teleport faded. Finn glanced around the corridor the three had been deposited in, their cat-like ability to see in the low light allowing them to follow the lines of First Ones writing to the end of the hallway and there - Finn stepped over a bit of writing on the floor and around them the Crystal Castle glowed to life with a nearly inaudible hum.

Finn looked over their shoulder to flash a grin at Lumina and Flora. “Come on!” They waved them forward.

Flora giggled and eagerly ran past, into the now illuminated hallway, right under Finn's elbow. “Watch the tail!” Finn laughed, leaning away, as the young girl's dark pink stinger swung a little too close for comfort.

Finn began to follow, and next to them Lumina fell into step. In the violet light the sparkles in her dusty purple and soft pink curls twinkled like the first stars peeking out between the moons at dusk, casting a subtle shine over her bronze skin.

“You know we’re gonna have to convince Flora not to say anything to her moms, right?” Lumina said as the princess in question's mop of white hair disappeared from sight in the dim hall.

“I’ll bribe her with some of those cookies she likes,” Finn shrugged.

“Which she’ll _also_ have to keep from Perfuma,” Lumina snickered.

Ahead of them the corridor opened into a much brighter, large cavern, ringed with crumbling pillars between doors leading off into deeper areas of the castle. In the center a platform rose up like it was meant to hold something of importance, the focal point of the room like a stage at the front of a theatre. A purple, clunky, three screen computer and keyboard sat dormant on the floor nearby, hooked up to an unhinged panel in the side.

“Whoa,” Lumina awed as they stepped inside, turning in a full circle to see the whole room. She tipped her head back to look up into the gradual shadow that hid the ceiling high above. Flora was already inspecting the platform, running her hands over the smooth crystal surface and admiring the colors that played on it as she walked it’s length.

Finn folded their arms over their chest, the tip of their tail curling and uncurling behind them and smirking with pride at the success of their idea to show their friends the ancient ruin Finn had been to with their parents many times before.

“You think that’s cool, darling?” Finn grinned, making both Flora and Lumina look to them. “Watch this!”

They ran to the computer Entrapta had left behind for future use and turned it on as Lumina and Flora came to stand over their shoulders. The screens flickered to life and Finn read through the list of commands before selecting one.

A vivid red light replaced the calm purples and blues of the room.

Lumina laughed and sat beside Finn with an arm propped up on her leg. “Can you make it yellow?”

Finn scanned the screen again. “I don’t think so?” They said. “I think it’s a preset command.”

“Hmm,” Lumina leaned into the display to check out the list of options. “What’s this one do?” She asked, pointing to the line in question.

“Uh, you guys, should we really be playing with this stuff?” Flora asked from over Finn's right shoulder, anxiously ringing her hands and looking uneasy. 

Finn had to resist the urge to roll their eyes. They loved Flora, but she was only seven - practically a baby to their ten year old self. And she was from _Plumeria_. Finn thought all that meditation stuff they did there made you too in-your-head. Finn didn’t want to think about actions, they wanted to simply act, any consequences to be dealt with later.

“It’s okay, Flor, this place is really old, all the dangerous stuff is probably broken down by now,” Lumina assured her, ever Finns partner in crime.

“Yeah, and Entrapta reprogrammed the killer spiders so they’re friendly now!” Finn added.

“Did she _make_ the killer spiders first?” Lumina asked with a smirk.

“Nah, my mom said they’ve been here for a long time,” And without any more delay they clicked on the command Lumina had been curious about.

In the center of the room a circle on the platform lit up with a bright white light. Finn gasped and jumped to their feet. “It’s like a spotlight!” They exclaimed, running up the ramp, prepared to strike their most dramatic pose.

As soon as they stepped into the light the room around them flickered, and suddenly they weren’t inside the Crystal Castle, but a dimly lit bar in the Valley of the Lost, surrounded by the sound of clattering dishes and clinking of glasses and drunken chatter, on the rickety old stage they had performed on when their Auncle Double Trouble took them on their first trip to the Crimson Waste earlier that year. 

It was the very place they had been thinking of when they stepped onto the crystal platform.

“What hap- w-where-” Flora started to stutter from where she knelt on the now dirty bar floor below the stage. Even Lumina looked nervous, her eyes darting around frantically.

Finn stumbled backwards, not wanting to be in the spotlight drawing attention to themself if they were alone in the Crimson Waste, and as they stepped back out of the light the room buzzed faintly and blinked back to the cavernous chamber of the temple they were supposed to be in.

Finn gave a sigh of relief, and with it came wonder. “What _was_ that?”

Luminas eyes fell to the computer screens. “I think… I think that was a simulation!” She guessed. In a burst of sparkles she joined Finn on the pedestal where the circle still glowed behind them. “How did you do that? Let me try!”

“I- I was just thinking about that bar and then-” Finn trailed off, unsure how to explain what had happened when they didn’t quite know themselves.

Lumina teleported away again, this time reappearing in the circle. Finn excitedly waited for the room to change to whatever she was imagining, only for nothing to happen. Luminas confused expression matched how they felt. Had the projection simply been some kind of glitch in the system, and not Finns doing? Lumina backed out of the circle, and this time stepped in, and still the room stayed the same.

“Let me,” Finn insisted, taking her place. And as it had before, the bar in the Crimson Waste flashed into place.

“Maybe it’s because you’re kind of a First One?” Lumina suggested, placing a hand on her hip as she pursed her lips thoughtfully. “My grandpas’ books say a lot of the ruins only respond to First Ones.” 

Finn thought of how the temple only ever reacted to their moms commands, but never to mamas, or how mom had to accompany Entrapta the first couple times she went there because she was the only one with access until Entrapta hacked into the buildings network. 

Finn eyed the glowing circle with a newfound interest.

Echoing Finn's own thoughts Lumina began pushing them back towards the centre of the platform. “Do it again!” She insisted excitedly.

“I don’t think this is safe,” Flora protested, her voice trembling and vigorously shaking her head. “C-can we go back to Brightmoon now?”

“We already saw it’s just an illusion,” Finn soothed. Flora frowned. “I just wanna try a few more, and then we can go play in the woods, okay?”

Without waiting for her response Finn jumped into the circle and the projection started once again.

What began as a ‘few more’ quickly turned into a half a dozen scenes - the beach in Salineas where Finn often went looking for seashells while their moms visited with their friend Mermista, the forest clearing behind their house that they grew up playing in, the farm-fresh market outside Alwyn on a bright Saturday morning.

Standing in a projection of the Scorpioni kingdom's grand hall Finn fell to their knees, clutching their hands to their chest, then paused, looking to Flora, who had calmed as the projections continued to be harmless and was enjoying Finn's show along with Lumina. “Can I get a flower, love?”

Flora quickly summoned a red blossom between her hands and threw it to Finn. 

“Thanks,” They dramatically held the flower up. “How could Luridae _do_ this? I love her so!”

“Boo!” Lumina called with her hands cupped around her mouth and a wicked grin as she sat back. “When is intermission so I can get some tomatoes to throw at you?”

Finn pouted, flicking their blonde fringe out of their eyes. They pushed themself to their feet. “Well, what would _you_ like to see, oh critic?” 

Lumina looked around thoughtfully. “Do you think this place can show things you _haven’t_ seen?” She asked after a moment.

Finn gaped.

“Do the Fright Zone! Back when it was under the Horde!” Lumina requested. “There’s no _way_ you would know what that looks like!”

Finn, still standing in the spotlight, closed their eyes and concentrated - peeking to see if it had worked and closing them again when it hadn’t. They scrunched up their face, their tail flicking from side to side. They thought about their moms' stories of their life in the Horde.

They heard a sharp exhale and opened their eyes.

Around them a landscape of concrete and metal rose up, the skies low hanging clouds a murky green. Machinery banged and rumbled around them and skiffs flew overhead blowing out exhaust. Finn couldn’t even begin to reconcile the military fortress with the blooming, opulent kingdom their Aunt Scorpia ruled, and even less could they imagine their moms living there.

“Wow,” Lumina mumbled, uncharacteristically subdued. “I can’t believe…”

Flora as well looked deeply sad, her eyes fixed on the few small, limp weeds growing out of the otherwise barren dirt. She said nothing, but her bottom lip trembled.

Finn faltered at the sudden shift in mood, but quickly puffed themself back up. If nothing else, they were good at making their friends laugh.

“Our story begins,” They narrated in a low voice, drawing Flora and Luminas attention to them. “Many years ago, in the darkest, evilest place of Etheria - the Evil Horde…”

They acted out their improvised tale, of a Rebellion General and their battle of wills and weapons against a wicked Force Captain. They wielded an imaginary staff, and fought their imaginary enemy, dropping perfectly timed witty lines and dramatic vows of vengeance for their friends.

Lumina and Flora watched on with cheers and laughter, the melancholy of before forgotten as Finn performed.

Parrying an imagined swing from their opponent Finn spun with a flourish to the edge of the pedestal they stood on. The small drop off at the back would be perfect for their finale!

“We’ll meet again, Force Captain,” They proclaimed, pointing into the air where the enemy stood in their mind. “And when we do it’ll be on _my_ home turf, and you won’t be so lucky!”

And with that, they jumped from the ledge.

A strange static-like feeling went through their body, tingling up their spine and leaving their fur sticking up, lasting for just a second, short enough to almost be dismissed.

Except, when they turned around to accept Lumina and Floras applause, they weren’t there. 

A stiff, foul smelling wind blew their hair into their face. The projections hadn’t had any atmosphere changes until then...

And while the projections had disappeared whenever Finn had stepped out of the circle before, the Fright Zone stayed towering around them. A half-circle shaped robot rolled past their feet, beeping.

“Lumina?” Finn called hesitantly, unease stirring in their chest. “Flora?!”

* * *

Adora was laughing, leaning into Catra’s shoulder for support as she listened to Perfuma’s retelling of a mess of a date night she had with Scorpia recently, when she heard two sets of feet pounding down the hallway outside the sitting room in Brightmoon, and moments later Lumina and Flora were sliding in the doorway, yelling over each other a mile a minute as soon as they saw their parents.

“Finn was-”

“We looked but-”

“It’s like they-”

“Whoa!” Bow called over the voices. The two girls stopped, panting and disheveled and clearly distraught. “Now, what happened?” He asked calmly.

“We were playing in the Crystal Castle,” Lumina said, her voice shaking.

“You were _what_?!” Glimmer cried, her eyebrows shooting up.

Lumina continued. “There was- we found- found a way of projecting stuff and we were just- just playing but-”

With mounting horror it occurred to Adora that Finn wasn’t with them. From Catras grip on her arm she was feeling it too.

“What happened?” Glimmer insisted, cutting through Luminas panicked rambling.

“Finn got- it’s like- they disappeared!” Flora interjected.

In the deafening silence that followed Flora ran into Perfumas arms, crawling up on her lap and getting cuddled into her mom's chest.

“They jumped into the projection,” Lumina elaborated, her words barely above a whisper. “And the projection went away and they were just… gone.”

Adora could hear her own heartbeat pounding in her ears, a numbness spreading from her fingertips to the rest of her body. She couldn’t catch her breath, her chest aching like she had run fifteen laps around the training arena. It was like the world had slowed around her, her mind racing faster then she could pick out individual thoughts outside the overreaching terror.

And then, all at once, she snapped back to herself, to the present, everything sharp and in high contrast, and much too loud with multiple voices yelling.

“-Like a portal?” Perfuma was asking.

Bow was looking at Catra desperately. “-You and Adora saw some projections in there that one time?”

“Yeah, but we didn’t get _stuck_ in them!” Catra protested, her voice breaking. She had gotten to her feet at some point. Her shoulders were hunched, her tail thrashing and her ears pinned back against her head. Her eyes were wild, and shining with unshed tears.

Adora hadn’t seen her look so scared in years, maybe since before Finn was born, maybe even since the war.

She gently pried Catras hand out of it’s fist at her side and slipped hers into it. Catra followed her movements as Adora stood up next to her, everyone going quiet as they waited for her to speak.

“We’re going to the Crystal Castle. We’ll find them,” Adora said resolutely.

They had to find them. Every other outcome was unimaginable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can go to my tumblr [here](https://bookwormpride.tumblr.com/) for fic extras, commentary, and updates. And posts about she ra in general


	2. Chapter 2

_Adora had woken up at the sound of the bedroom door creaking open, still a light sleeper after all the years, but at least her first instinct wasn’t to reach for a weapon or shift into a fighting stance any more._

_Instead, she squinted into the darkness and propped herself up on her elbow to see over Catras still-sleeping form next to her._

_“Mommy?” A small voice whimpered._

_Finn stood in the doorway, cradling their favorite yellow blanket to their chest, their tail wrapped protectively around their leg, and their eyes big and shining in the moonlight coming through the window next to the bed._

_“Hey baby,” Adora answered sleepily. She asked, though she had a fairly good idea already, “What's up?”_

_Finn hesitated, then simply shrugged, as if they didn’t know why they were up long past their bedtime, waking their mom._

_Adora rose from the bed, careful not to disturb her wife, and padded across the room to Finn. She scooped them up, resting them on her hip and stepping out into the hallway. Before she could shut the door Melog, who had been watching the exchange while curled up next to Catra, jumped to the floor and joined them, quietly mewling at Finn and following the pair down the hallway._

_“Can’t sleep?” Adora asked once they were far enough away from the room she was sure Catra wouldn’t hear._

_Finn shook their head._

_In the living room Adora flicked on a small lamp in the corner, casting the room into a warm orange light. She sat on the couch, setting Finn down beside her and tucking the yellow blanket around their shoulders. Melog sat on the floor, laying their head in the space between them._

_“Was it the story Auntie Glimmer told earlier?” Adora pressed._

_Before they had left Brightmoon after their visit, Finn had begged to stay just a bit longer to hear the story Glimmer was going to read to Lumina after dinner - an old folklore about a race of harpies that lived on Talon Mountain, and their leader Hunga._

_Adora and Catra had warned Finn the story might be scary to them, Lumina was a few years older than them after all, but they had insisted that they would be fine, and even laughed along with Lumina during Hungas villainous speech - but Adora still hadn’t been convinced._

_Finn looked up at her, suddenly panicked. “I heard something flying outside and I- I thought-”_

_Adora chuckled, brushing a piece of cedar brown hair, the exact same color as Catras, away from their face. “It was probably just a bird,” She said gently._

_Finn huffed, turning away in a pout, clearly not content with that answer._

_“You know, I’m pretty sure there are no harpies on Talon Mountain, or anywhere else on Etheria. I’ve certainly never seen one,” Adora reasoned. “But, even if there were, you're safe here. What do you think your mama and I would do if a harpy came into this house?” She asked with a playful lilt._

_Finn gave a small smile. “Kick it’s butt.”_

_Adora laughed. “That’s right,” She agreed. Melog mewed pointedly. “And Melog too,” She added._

_Finn giggled lightly, and crawled across the couch to sit between Adoras legs, burying their face in her chest. She wrapped her arms around them, pressing a kiss to the top of their head and feeling a fuzzy ear flick against her cheek._

_She whispered into their hair, “I won’t let anything hurt you…”_

The memory popped into Adoras mind between ill-conceived, directionless plans and sheer blind panic as they waited outside the Crystal Castle for Entrapta to arrive.

After tearing through the building themselves, searching every room, every nook and cranny, calling Finns name until Adora and Catras throats were hoarse, and Adora demanding answers - and not getting any, as usual - from the old, broken down Administrator, their next move was to return to the clearing outside, where their friends and the girls waited for them, and contact Entrapta. If this was something technological she would be able to help them better than anyone.

“...Playing with ancient technology like it’s a fun game!” Nearby, Glimmer lectured Lumina while Bow stood to the side with his arms crossed. Her shrill, outraged voice reached Adora even through the clamour in her head. “You’re _so_ grounded! I can’t believe…”

Closer to where Adora paced, and much quieter, Perfuma held Flora against her side, asking, “Do you think we should reflect together on the choices that we’ve made today, and how we can make better ones in the future?”

Adora had never wished more to be scolding Finn as her friends were doing to their children - after giving them the biggest hug in the world and checking every inch of them for injury. She wanted to take them home and make them and Catra and her tea and check on Finn that night as they slept peacefully in their bed.

Finn always acted braver than they were, always wanted to be seen as more mature than their age. But to Adora that youth was wondrous, a miracle she herself never got. Finn could learn to spar from her and Catra without being pushed beyond their limits or fearing the day the fight became real, they could play in the Whispering Woods and not worry about running into an enemy, they could cry without shame and laugh without burden.

And when they weren’t as brave as they wanted to be, or they didn’t feel as mature as they pretended, Adora and Catra were there to help.

Except now, Adora had no way of knowing where their child was, what was happening to them, if they were _okay_ -

Catra was suddenly in front of Adora, her hands on her shoulders, forcing her to stop in her tracks. “Adora, keep going and you’re going to walk a trench into the ground,” She said, her eyebrows knit low and her tone lacking the sarcasm that would usually come with such a remark. “You need to breathe, come on.”

Adora took a gasping breath, feeling like she hadn’t taken air into her lungs in several minutes. And with it she seemed to have the renewed energy to panic.

She grabbed onto Catras wrists with a vice-like grip. “W-what if they got trapped in some simulation? O-or they’re hurt, somewhere in there, that- that _place_ is one _big danger maze_ -” She pointed vaguely to the Crystal Castle. “What if they’re not even-”

Catra shut her eyes and Adora stopped herself from finishing that thought. “I know,” Catra said tersely, taking a shaking breath herself. “But we don’t know that, that’s jumping to worst case scenarios. We won’t know anything until Entrapta gets here and we need- _they_ need us to be level-headed.”

Adora blinked back the tears that had been forming in the corners of her eyes, and threw herself against Catra, pressing her nose into her neck as Catra returned her hold with equal strength. She could feel Catra shaking, and her puffs of breath ruffling her hair.

How long they stood like that Adora didn’t know. The adrenaline in her veins had made time meaningless, all that mattered was that it was all time that Finn was missing.

They only broke their embrace when they heard the heavy clunking that shook the ground coming their way. Through the trees and foliage Entraptas bot that she had recovered from Beast Island appeared, bounding into the clearing on four limbs and skidding to a rough stop.

For once, Adora couldn’t wait to hear Entrapta’s science babble, if it meant she would know what happened to her baby.

* * *

Finn was freaking out.

They had tried everything - running, jumping, stomping on to the spot the platform in the Crystal Castle should have been, closing their eyes and focusing real hard like they had when they summoned the projection of the Fright Zone in the first place, pinching themself because this _had to be a dream_.

When none of it worked and they were still left standing in the Fright Zone, the acrid smell thick in their nostrils, their legs suddenly felt weak. They slowly lowered themself to the ground so as not to fall and sat down hard, pulling their legs to their chest and propping their head up in their hands.

“Okay, Finn,” They muttered to themself. “You just need to think…”

Their breathing was loud and fast in their ears, but still not enough to drown out the noises of the Fright Zone which crackled and whirred and popped around them. The ground under their partly-bare feet was rough and small stones bit into their soles.

They needed to _focus_ , they reminded themself.

They didn’t know what this was. A projection more realistic then the rest? An error in the Crystal Castles system that they had gotten caught up in? Some kind of trap set by the First Ones for intruders in the castle? 

Or more drastically, had they jumped into a portal like the ones used to travel distances in seconds? Or slipped into the projections time period and were actually in the past, in the Horde? Was the Fright Zone around them real?

 _How_ didn’t matter at the moment, they just needed to get out of it. All their efforts so far had failed. They could wait, hope that whatever this was wore off, or that Lumina and Flora, or even their moms, would get to them. Or they could start looking for a way to return to the castle themself.

That gave them an idea. They perked up, lifting their head from their hands. Maybe they needed to return to Crystal Castle _in this world_. Whether they were in a projection, or in the past, they were in the Horde. If they went to the temple they could use the same method that had brought them there to get back! All they had to do was get out of the Fright Zone and find their way to the castle.

“Hey!” A harsh voice barked behind them. They startled, their tail bristling. “What are you doing out here, twerp? I should take you straight to Shad-”

As they scrambled to their feet and turned to face the person who had found them the woman's threat died off and she blinked, clearly confused. 

“You’re not-” She shook her head. She was easily as big as Aunt Scorpia, her scaly skin teal, and one eye covered by an eyepatch with the Horde insignia. Several thick tentacles sprouted from her back. “Are you a new cadet? Why are you outside of the barracks?”

Finn tried to keep their cool. They liked to think of themself as an actor, like Auncle Double Trouble, and Double Trouble wouldn’t panic. This was just a test of their skills. “Y-yeah, I’m a new- new cadet!” 

Not their smoothest, but they had been caught off guard. They hoped the woman would put it down to fear of her instead of lying. They continued, “I’m a new cadet, and I was just look- looking for a bathroom, but I got lost!”

Her one visible eye narrowed. “Cadets bathroom is beside your dorm, where _you_ are supposed to be at this time of night, on the other side of the Fright Zone,” She informed with a snarl.

They chuckled uneasily. So that lie had fallen flat. “I got _really_ lost.”

Force Captain Octavia, as they quickly found out her name was, escorted them with a scowl and a couple of rough, unnecessary shoves through the Fright Zone. The deeper they got into the city the thicker the towers clustered together and the more it felt like Finn was being swallowed in a labyrinth of dark metal and endless identical doors.

Finally, they entered a long, low building with few windows that they could see, and Octavia asked, “Whose squad are you in?”

Finn was seized by panic for a moment, without a clue what to say with such little knowledge of their situation. “...Adoras?” They tried weakly.

Octavia rolled her eyes. “Of course you are,” She muttered under her breath.

She led them through several hallways, all empty but for the occasional rolling bot or older soldier passing through. Then they turned a corner, and standing outside a pair of sliding double doors was their mom.

She was a teenager, if just barely. Her cheeks were still slightly round with baby fat, and her eyes, the same grey-blue as Finns, big and not yet wrinkled at the corners. Her blonde hair, which Finn was used to her wearing down around her face, was pulled back in a tight ponytail that their mom reserved for being active or days she hadn’t showered.

Octavia pushed Finn ahead of her, towards Adora. “Here's your cadet,” She grumbled.

Adora stared at them, her eyes lingering on Finn's ears and tail, before they flickered back up to Octavia, opening her mouth to voice her obvious confusion, but Octavia was already stalking back down the hallway.

Instead, Adora looked to Finn again. “Uh, hi,” She said, in a voice higher pitched but still recognizable as their moms, giving them a small wave. “Are you a new member of our squad, or…?”

Even though she wasn’t yet their mom, and she didn’t even know who they were, Finn felt just a little better in her presence. She was familiar, she was one of the mothers they had run to for safety and looked to for guidance their entire lives. “I’m a… transfer,” They bluffed. “From another squad.”

Adora beamed at that. “Oh, cool! We haven’t had a new teammate since my friend Lonnie!” She said cheerfully. “I’m Adora!”

They introduced themself as well, and Adora nodded towards the door they were standing in front of. “You can go inside and start getting ready for bed, I’m just waiting for my friend-”

Behind them they heard a whispering hissing noise, and Adora snapped to attention as Finn whirled around in alarm. From the shadows on one side of the hall emerged two figures. One was Finn's mama, her hair wild, with tufts of grey below her flattened back ears, her mismatched eyes hard and downcast as she was pulled along by the arm. When she glanced up her gaze first darted over Finn with a flash of curiosity, and then settled on Adora behind them and the tension in her stance visibly softened.

The other was a woman in red and black robes, her hair billowing around her head as if weightless. Her face was covered entirely by a mask with no distinct features but for a red gem on its forehead and white slits for eyes. She floated towards them and Adora, claw-like fingers digging into Catras arm. Finn recognized her immediately from the stories that never painted her in a very flattering light. Shadow Weaver.

Despite her eyes being hidden Finn felt her studying them, and noticed the almost imperceptible tilt of her head, though she said nothing. Under her scrutiny they felt clammy, their throat tight, and they desperately wanted to hide. 

Shadow Weaver dropped Catras arm. “Go inside, Catra,” She ordered. “I need to have a word with Adora.”

Catra wasted no time in storming towards the metal double doors, which slid open to let her in. Finn followed, relieved to be able to escape.

Inside were two rows of bunks, illuminated in a fluorescent, green tinged light. Cadets were beginning to get ready for bed, a small group huddled together around a bunk in the middle and talking amongst themselves. Despite being a room full of kids only a few years older than Finn it was spotless and impossibly tidy, not a sock left on the floor or a blanket untucked. There weren’t even any visible pictures, toys, or personal belongings in sight.

Finn brushed off the oddness of the observation and turned to Catra as the doors shut behind them. “Hi! I’m-”

Catra kept walking as if she hadn’t even heard them. She jumped onto the first top bunk on the left and curled up on her side with her back to them. Her tail thrashed, slapping against the bed rhythmically. 

From the other side of the doors Adoras voice caught Finn's attention.

“-We didn’t mean to miss combat sim earlier!” She said, Finn's sensitive ears making the words as clear as if they were still out in the hall with her. “We just-”

“Your squad depends on you, Adora. They struggled without you today, and it will affect _all_ of your scores,” Shadow Weaver tsked, her tone much gentler than the one she had used with Catra before, though there was definitely an edge of disapproval. “You know I expect better of you. You can _not_ let Catra bring you down to her level, Adora. If she chooses to slack off and become nothing more than a simple soldier - at _that_ ,” She scoffed. “You don’t have to do the same.”

Finn frowned, stepping closer to the doors as if they couldn’t already hear the conversation well enough. Their mama was a strategist, the most trusted advisor to their auntie, Queen Glimmer, a skilled fighter, and while she complained sometimes about chores around the house or going grocery shopping Finn never would have thought her lazy. Shadow Weavers words didn’t make sense to them, unless their mama had changed that much from when she was young.

“But it wasn’t Catra’s fault,” Adora protested. “She was-”

Once again, Shadow Weaver interrupted. “I have already dealt with Catra,” She said sharply. 

Finn didn’t like the sound of _that_.

“Tomorrow you will do an extra, individual combat simulation after your afternoon training to make up for the one you missed,” She continued. “And I _won’t_ tolerate this kind of behavior again, is that clear?”

There was a pause before Adora gave a quiet, “Yes, Ma’am.”

Finn strained to hear more but there was only silence. 

A moment later the doors slid open with a hiss and Adora stepped inside, chewing on her bottom lip like she always did when she was upset. She sighed, her shoulders falling.

Then she saw Finn, standing off to the side of the doors, and put on a smile that almost completely covered the tired look she had come in with. “Hey!” She greeted. “C’mon, I’ll introduce you to everyone and we can get you settled in a bunk.”

It was only as she started to show them to an empty bed that Finn realized their hands were trembling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can go to my tumblr [here](https://bookwormpride.tumblr.com/) for fic extras, commentary, and updates. And posts about she ra in general


	3. Chapter 3

Finn felt like they had hardly gotten to sleep when a harsh, buzzing alarm rang through the cadet barracks and the lights began slamming on overhead. Their heart hammered in their chest as they sat bolt upright in the cot and tried to get their bearings.

They had spent a good portion of the night wondering if they could try to sneak out for the Crystal Castle while everyone slept, then deciding it was too risky in the dark to attempt to find their way. And that was when their situation had truly hit them - how much danger they were in trying to blend in in the Horde, how uncertain they were of how to get home or if they even _could_ , how terrified they were once they were thinking about it. 

They had cried a bit, muffling any noises in the thin pillow they had been given and hoping the cadets around them wouldn’t notice.

Between that, and the bed mat that was so hard they might as well have been sleeping on the metal floor, the scratchy blanket that provided little warmth, and the constant thrumming and hissing of machinery, it had been a rough and not very restful night. 

Cadets were already rising from their bunks seconds after the alarm went off, grabbing changes of clothes from the storage units in the walls next to the beds, heading out the door to the bathroom Adora had shown Finn the night before, or making their bed first thing. 

Finn rubbed their eyes, desperately wanting to lie back down and sleep longer, but not wanting to find out the consequences of sleeping in, and besides, they had a mission. They just had to wait for an opportunity to slip away unnoticed and get out of the Fright Zone. 

Their stomach rumbled though, reminding them that they hadn’t eaten since lunch the day before. Staying for breakfast couldn’t hurt, and they would need the fuel for the journey to the Crystal Castle. 

Finn followed the cadets in ‘their squad’ through the halls they had been led through by Octavia, coming to a large cafeteria with long benches, full of tough-looking soldiers and cadets talking loudly, their voices amplified by the metal walls of the room. 

They sniffed the air, hoping to get a hint at what breakfast would be. Brightmoons dining hall always smelled of whatever delicious dishes the chefs were cooking, and the kitchen at home always had an undertone of cinnamon from the tea their mama liked. But the cafeteria only had the same stale, slightly smoggy smell as the rest of the building.

They heard a familiar laugh ahead of them. Peering between Lonnie and Rogelios' shoulders Finn saw Adora throwing her head back at something Catra had said.

At least that wasn’t so different from a morning at home.

They pushed forward to line up behind Catra in the queue, earning another inquisitive look from her before she turned to face straight ahead again. 

At the front of the line they watched a soldier hold out their badge emblazoned with the Horde insignia to the server, who scanned it before she handed him something in clear wrapping. Finn watched the next person do the same.

“Is that how you get your meal?” Finn wondered aloud in a small voice, mostly to themself, but Catra looked over her shoulder at them, quirking an eyebrow.

“Uh yeah,” She scoffed. “Did you just get here yesterday?”

Finn didn’t comment on how accurate her sarcastic question was. 

They were coming up to the front of the line, Adora next to be served, and they didn’t have a badge. 

They ducked out of the line, leaving the person behind them to move up. They found the table where the other three cadets in the squad sat, already breaking into what looked like dull colored bricks, and slid into the bench on the other side. Their stomach growled again as if complaining in protest of not getting any food.

Catra and Adora joined the group shortly after, eagerly ripping into the plastic wrapping and joining in the others' conversation. Finn wasn’t paying too close attention until they felt an elbow nudge their arm.

Catra held a wrapped bar out towards them while everyone else was too engrossed in their bantering talk to notice. Finn glanced at the bar, then back at Catra uncertinaly to find her beginning to look impatient. They took it with a grateful smile.

As fast as she had given it to them she turned away again as if the exchange had never happened.

The bar they had been given was a muted brown, chunky and coarse, and they found out when they bit into it that it tasted like dirt. Finn didn’t know what dirt tasted like, but they thought it must be similar to the Hordes idea of breakfast.

With breakfast over in just barely enough time to eat Finn quickly discovered they would not be sneaking away right then.

“We have sim first period!” Adora told them as everyone in the cafeteria started to get up from the tables and flood out the doors to their individual tasks. With Adora clearly aware of their presence Finn had no choice but to go with the squad to their first class. 

In a locker room, putting on the green shield-like breastplate and vambraces they had been given, Finn felt confident. They sparred with their moms and Lumina all the time. They were good with their dagger, and even though the staff all the cadets wielded wasn’t their weapon of choice they were sure it couldn’t be that hard to use.

As they and the five cadets stood outside a set of doors a bulky man with entirely sky blue skin walked in to stand in front of them. “Who are you?” He asked in a monotone, almost bored, tone upon seeing Finn.

“I got transferred from another squad,” Finn replied easily now that they had an established lie.

If he thought there was anything strange about Finn's story the Commander didn’t say anything, simply jumping into an introduction of the simulation they were about to do before stepping out of the way of the doors and letting the cadets head in.

The room had been transformed into a rocky landscape, the floor uneven and cliffs jutting up over their head. Everything was in shades of green, and shone metallically from the simulated stones to the cliffs.

As soon as the doors shut behind them the group was ambushed by several round robots walking on four appendages with lasers built into their surface.

“Scatter!” Adora shouted from the front of their team.

The cadets took off in all different directions, confusing and separating the bots. Finn immediately ran up a slope to get to higher ground, seeing Catra do the same on the other side of the arena. Below Lonnie dragged Kyle behind a pile of boulders, and Rogelio was taking on one of the bots that had followed him. 

Adora hadn’t gotten very far from the starting point before coming up against one of the bots as well. Finn watched her smash the lasers in, disabling them, then she began working on destroying it completely, aiming for its legs and core.

A laser fired right past Finn's leg and they jumped back, whipping around to face the bot that had followed them up the hill.

They smirked, hoisting their staff, rolled up onto the balls of their feet, and launched themself at the robot.

The bot fired again, but they were already behind it, taking a swing with the flat of the staff at its side.

The staff hit with a clang that rattled the exterior of the bot, but did no apparent damage.

Below, they heard the scuffle of several fights, and across from them the sound of Catras claws tearing into metal. Behind them another bots legs banged up the cliff.

Finn threw away the staff. They didn’t know how to use it, and while their claws still weren’t their first choice they had experience with those. Before the second bot could reach them they whirled on the first, digging their claws deep into its side.

The bot spun out, and Finn, with their hand still lodged inside, was pulled off their feet and tossed to the ground several feet away. They hissed in pain from where the metal had scraped their wrist, and they had gotten the wind knocked out of them as they landed.

Now two bots were approaching them. They shakily pushed themself to their feet, preparing to leap again, and the second fired it’s laser.

The blast hit Finn in the shoulder, shooting them right back to the ground, their entire body twitching from the stinging energy pulse. They whimpered, their vision blurring with tears. They quickly tried to blink them back because they _weren’t a baby_ and they didn’t cry like a little kid when they got hurt any more - even if it _really_ hurt.

Footsteps were coming up the crest of the cliff, and as Finn started to rise again they saw Adora jump, stabbing her staff right through the back of one bot. The lights in it’s display and laser went dark and it stopped moving. She pulled the staff out and turned.

Catra ran past Finn's head. Adora grinned at her, ducking to miss a laser blast and staying hunched over for Catra to use her shoulders to vault off of.

Catra ripped into the bot, never still long enough for it to catch her in it’s blast. She jumped onto it’s curved top with perfect balance, and drove her hand into the laser.

A buzz rang through the simulation arena, signaling the end of the course.

Finn was still shaking from the eclectic shock and fall they had taken when Adora crouched in front of them. Her cheeks were flushed and her skin glistened with a light sheen of sweat, a piece of hair that had come loose from the poof atop her head hung in her face.

“Hey, you did great!” She said cheerfully, as if Finn hadn’t just failed to take out even one bot. “That was a tough course, wasn’t it?”

She held out her hand to help them up. They took it, wiping their eyes discreetly with the heel of their free hand to get rid of any lingering wetness.

“You’re from a younger squad, right?” Adora asked.

The way she said it didn’t make it sound like a judgement or question of their capabilities, but Finn was already questioning those themself. They looked away, embarrassed.

“You must be good if they transferred you to our team!” She said anyway. Finn looked back up at her to see her smiling brightly at them, the same smile she gave as their mom when she told them their acting in a play had been good or the muffins they made on their own for the first time delicious.

“Thanks,” Finn managed to smile back.

* * *

Catra had never gotten comfortable with the Crystal Castle no matter how many times she had been there since the war.

After the experiences of being attacked by robot spiders, forcibly reliving memories brought up specifically to drive her and Adora apart, being attacked and nearly poisoned by a leviathan creature, seeing Shadow Weaver killed along with said leviathan creature, and watching Adora almost die at the Heart, the place didn’t exactly put her at ease. It was unpredictable, and full of dangers. Finns’ disappearance into a simulation only further proved that point.

“Okay!” Entrapta exclaimed enthusiastically, plopping down in front of her computer on the floor in the main room of the castle, her hair acting as an extra set of hands as she began to type away on the keyboard. “I just have to go into the system and find the most recently executed commands and that should tell us what happened to Finn!”

Catra wrapped her arms around herself, holding her elbows, as Entrapta went quiet to focus on her work. Adora touched her arm, giving her as much of a reassuring smile as she could muster. Catra leaned into her side, letting out a tired sigh. 

Entraptas' hair suddenly frizzed up around her. Catra tensed in anticipation. “Aha!” She cried. “ _Fascinating_ , I knew the castle could open portals to different _places_ but I had no idea it could do this!”

“What did it _do_?” Catra pressed agitatedly. “ _Where_ is Finn?”

Entrapta began typing at an even more rapid pace, not looking away from the computer as she explained, “The projections Finn and the others accessed were representations of chosen time and place - sort of like thumbnails on your datapad,” She said. “When Finn went into it they were transported to the moment that was being projected.”

Adora took a step towards her. “And what was that?”

“It looks like it was a memory the castle had saved from you Adora!” Entrapta said. “They were transported baaack… twenty eight years, forty days, and eleven hours! Do you remember that?” She asked, looking over her shoulder.

Catra swore she could feel her heart sink to her feet as she realize where Adoras memories from twenty eight years ago would have taken place.

Adora balked at her. “No! I don’t- _remember_ things by time like that!” Adora said, shaking her head. “Twenty eight years ago... I would have been, what, fifteen?”

Entrapta thought about it for a second. “You were thirteen, actually!”

“But at thirteen I was still-” Adora stopped with a hard exhale. Catra could see her coming to the same conclusion she already had. “...We were still in the Horde,” She whispered, turning to Catra with clear horror on her face.

Adora lifted a shaking hand to cover her mouth, tears filling her eyes. Catra understood. The thought of their child who they had done everything they could to raise to be soft and kind, surrounded by love, in the warm, safe home they had created for them sent to the cruel, harsh environment of their childhood, was one of the worst things Catra could imagine happening to them.

“Entrapta, what do we do?” Catra asked desperately, because there had to be _something_ they could do.

Entrapta smiled blithely. “It’s simple really! All you have to do is use the castle to go back to the same time, or well, maybe a few hours later by now, find Finn, go to the Crystal Castle in _that_ time, and use it to come back to the present! Easy!”

Go back to the Horde. It was the very thing of nightmares to Catra. She hadn’t returned to the Fright Zone after the war until it was nearly done being transformed into Scorpias’ kingdom and completely unrecognizable from the industrial city of her childhood. She had wanted to leave it behind as much as possible, nothing more than a memory.

But for Finn she would have endured worse than a brief trip to the past. Her baby needed them, and nothing would stop her from bringing them home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can go to my tumblr [here](https://bookwormpride.tumblr.com/) for fic extras, commentary, and updates. And posts about she ra in general


	4. Chapter 4

Finn was finding out that the Hordes schedule was unbelievably strict, with one lesson after another, leaving them no time to make their escape. They had to follow Catra and Adoras' squad around for the day, from combat simulation, to basic literacy and arithmetic class, to sparring practice, with only lunch - where they were served more disgusting ration bars - as a brief break. Finn didn’t think they had ever been more exhausted in their life.

Finally, _finally_ , as they were leaving hand-to-hand combat training, they heard Catra mention that it was free time before dinner. This would be their chance. If it was free time not only could they get away from the squad, but no one would question them wandering the Fright Zone.

They were just finishing splashing their face with cold water from the sink in the locker room - something they usually would have hated as water made their fur prickle uncomfortably, but after how much they had sweat that day felt wonderful - when their ears flicked and swiveled as they heard the same whispering hissing noise as they had the night before.

They had no desire to be in Shadow Weavers vicinity again, remembering the spine-chilling stare she had locked them in during their first encounter. But it was only them, Catra, and Adora left in the locker room by then, and she would certainly be suspicious of Finn running out past her.

Instead, they ducked behind a row of lockers near the sink as they heard Adora greet her, “Shadow Weaver,” She said cordially.

“If it isn’t my _favorite_ person on Etheria,” Catra grumbled. Finn could hear her still rifling through her locker, which meant her back was to Shadow Weaver, while Adora had snapped to attention as soon as she walked in.

“Adora, you can go ahead, Force Captain Mantenna will be along to administer your make-up simulation,” Shadow Weaver said pointedly.

There was the sound of a locker door closing. “See you later, Catra!” Adora promised, her footsteps heading back towards the door to the arena. A moment later the door opened and swung shut with a long squeak.

From the other side of the lockers Finn suddenly heard Catra whimper, and what sounded like the crackle of electricity. They peered around the edge of the lockers to see what was happening.

Shadow Weaver loomed over Catra as she was surrounded by a halo of red, and crimson lightning like the kind their Aunt Scorpia commanded flickered over her skin. She seemed frozen in place, her body held in an unnaturally tense position, her clenched jaw visible from across the room.

Finn accidentally gave a surprised squeak, quickly clapping their hand over their mouth and hoping neither of them heard.

“I wouldn’t have thought you would be so eager to test my patience again after our time together last night, Catra,” Shadow Weaver hissed. “But I am more than happy to repeat the lesson if need be.”

The red energy fell away from Catras body and she slumped, breathing hard. Her tail hung limply between her legs.

Shadow Weaver grabbed her face in her hand, fingers digging into Catras cheeks, and forced her to meet her eyes through the mask. “Do you need a reminder of your rank, cadet?”

Catra grit her teeth. “No, Shadow Weaver,” She spit.

Shadow Weaver held her in her grip for another moment, then released her. “Go,” She pointed sharply towards the hall door.

Catra glared at the floor as she stalked past without a word.

Finn waited, not daring to drop their hand from their mouth until Shadow Weaver left as well. Once she did, they let out a breath, their heart pounding after what they had witnessed. A part of them was still trying to make sense of it. 

Their moms had always told them that Shadow Weaver had been their commanding officer, that she was often harsh and demanding, that she hadn’t really cared for them like someone looking after children should. But Finn had never seen someone treat _anyone_ so meanly, with such unfairness, outside of maybe the Crimson Waste - and certainly not a kid only a couple years older then Finn. 

They remembered responding in a grumbling, sarcastic tone to their mama asking them to do a chore only a few days ago, and she had done nothing more than repeat herself firmly. They had been annoyed with her at the time, but now they felt nothing but gratitude that she reacted as she had rather than anything like the treatment Finn just saw.

Finn stepped out from behind the lockers, checking to make sure they were alone. Once they were certain it was safe they headed for the door, more than ready to get out of the Horde, out of the Fright Zone, to _go home_. They wanted to see Lumina, and eat whatever their moms made for dinner without complaint, and let mom brush their fur like she used to when they were younger, and hear Melog purr at their feet while Finn read by the fireplace. They were homesick, more than they would have thought possible.

They had only taken a few steps into the hallway when a shadow cast over them from behind. They froze.

“Ah, cadet, I was hoping to catch you,” Shadow Weaver said, placing a cold hand on their shoulder. “I hope you won’t mind accompanying me to my chambers, I have some questions for you.”

* * *

Adora grip on Catras hand tightened as a projection of the Fright Zone took the place of the Crystal Castles main room at Entraptas' command from the computer.

“And all I have to do when we get to the Crystal Castle is ask the operator for a time portal and think about the present, and it’ll bring us back?” Adora checked with Entrapta, glancing over her shoulder.

“Yes!” Entrapta agreed enthusiastically, then wavered. “Of course, I haven’t run any tests to confirm that the castle is capable of travel to the future, which is much more complicated than returning to the past and...” At Adoras paling face she stopped with an awkward chuckle. “Yes, it should bring you back.”

Adora huffed. It was the only option they had, and Entraptas best guess would have to be reassurance enough.

Catra met Adoras eyes, hers portraying all the inner turmoil Adora was feeling as well as the burning determination for their mission, and as if on some unspoken cue they stepped together into the projection.

The first thing Adora noticed was the heavy, almost sticky, humidity of the air. She had once been so accustomed to it she had never noticed, but now it felt like she was already sweating. Maybe she was, and the air was actually normal.

“It stinks as much as I remember it,” Catra muttered, wrinkling her nose. “I can smell the foundry from here.”

Adora could only smell gasoline and smoke, but she was used to Catras superior senses picking up on things she didn’t.

“You don’t think we’ll run into… our past selves, do you?” Adora asked, partly intrigued by the prospect and partly apprehensive at what that would be like. 

“Thirteen,” Catra mused. “You would have just started wearing that dumb hair poof.”

Adora elbowed her playfully and they began walking toward the bowels of the city. “And you were still chasing mice,” She shot back. Catra opened her mouth to protest before Adora continued, “Thank you for reminding me, though.”

She reached into the back pockets of her pants and pulled out a spare hair tie she kept on her at all times.

“Oh yeah, if we’re here you want to really play the role,” Catra nodded with faux seriousness.

Adora rolled her eyes as she began pulling her hair back. “I _want_ my hair out of my face if we run into any problems.”

Catras' expression hardened momentarily at the mention of potential disaster. “I’d be more worried about running into Cobalt or something,” Catra said instead, answering Adoras question from before.

“Ugh,” Adora groaned at the memory of their former Commander. “He’d probably recognize us too.”

As they approached the center of the fortress Catra finally asked, “So how... should we do this…? How do we even know they’re still here? They could have gotten here and gone somewhere more familiar, to Brightmoon, or Plumeria even.”

Adora could hear the subtle hope in her voice, and had to agree that that would be better. The thought of Finn waiting for them in a friendly, safe kingdom rather than the inhospitable environment of the Horde was a nice one, but...

“We have to try here first, you know how hard it is to get out of the Fright Zone,” Adora told her. Catra pouted unhappily but didn’t disagree. “Maybe we can ask?”

Adora made a beeline for the barracks doors they were passing. “Look, there’s someone,” She said, watching a soldier in the standard Horde armor walk down the hallway towards them. She laid a hand on Catras arm. “Wait here, I’ll talk to them.”

She straightened her shoulders, puffed up her chest, and strode forward to meet the young girl. At least she wasn’t familiar to Adora.

“Excuse me,” Adora corrected the reflexive politeness of her tone as she continued, deepening her voice to sound harsher. Adding an air of impatience was easy, since she truly was in a rush. “Have you seen a half-cat kid with blonde hair, probably wearing a red bandana around their neck?”

The girl put a hand on her hip. “Yeah, Shadow Weaver was taking them to the Black Garnet Chamber earlier, I haven’t seen them since.”

It took everything in Adora to keep her composure, to not grab the soldier by the collar and demand more information, to not start hyperventilating right then and there. As it was, she managed a much-too-soft, “dismissed.” and the soldier continued on her way.

Adora turned to where she had left Catra at the corner of the hallway, finding her already approaching with an expectant, hopeful look. Her ears drooped when she saw Adoras pallid face, hesitating in her last few steps towards her.

“Shadow Weaver has them,” Adora whispered.

Again, Catras expression matched exactly how Adora felt. Terrified, saddened, and most of all, like she was preparing to tear the Fright Zone apart with her bare hands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh oh, Finns really in it now
> 
> You can go to my tumblr [here](https://bookwormpride.tumblr.com/) for fic extras, commentary, and updates. And posts about she ra in general


	5. Chapter 5

When Adora was pregnant Catra had been terrified.

She had been worried through the whole process, from discussions of starting a family to research to attempting to get pregnant. Adora and her had worked to quell both of their fears as they arose and they wanted it bad enough that Catra wouldn’t let her own doubt get in the way, but the real terror set in once it was a sure thing and Adora had a baby growing inside of her to be brought into the world in only nine short months.

How could she, Catra, ever be a good mother? She had a temper that - while she had gotten better at reeling in - could be explosive at times, a past that every so often came back to bite her in the ass and leave her shaking in tears on the floor, sensitivity still wasn’t her strong suit, and sometimes she felt like she could barely take care of herself let alone a being entirely dependent on her.

And the only example of parenthood she had was the poor excuse for a mother figure Shadow Weaver had been. That was what scared her the most - raising a child to feel as unloved, unwanted, and innately wrong as she had.

But then Finn was born.

As she held them in her arms when they were fresh and pink and just swaddled, and watched them sleep through the bars of their crib with their tiny fist around her finger, and listened to them laugh as they knocked over their blocks, that all-consuming fear went away, replaced with a fierce, equally all-consuming love.

It put into a new perspective for her exactly how messed up Shadow Weavers treatment had been, because Catra could _never_ hurt that kid. She never wanted Finn to fear her, or struggle to earn her approval. She never wanted them to feel the crackle of electricity up their spine or the sting of a slap across the face that were so common in Catras own childhood.

Hearing that Shadow Weaver had Finn Catra felt like her work was being sabotaged.

“Do you think she knows they’re ours?” Adora questioned as they frantically ran through the halls of the Fright Zone on the horribly still-familiar path to the Black Garnet Chamber.

“I don’t know!” Catra cried. “How _could_ she?! But- but she’s smart, I _don’t know_!”

“What does she even want with them?!” Adora griped.

Catra couldn’t even begin to guess, but she knew whatever it was wasn’t good.

* * *

Despite supposedly ‘asking’ if Finn would accompany her, Shadow Weaver didn’t leave them much choice. She grabbed them by the scruff of the neck and pulled them along as Finn protested and tried to wriggle away.

Finally they entered a room occupied mostly by a giant red gem in the middle - the Black Garnet that in Finns time stood glowing brightly, out in the open at the center of Aunt Scorpias kingdom. Pipes snaked up the walls with black screens inlaid between them. When they stepped inside the door slid down with an ominous bang.

Shadow Weaver let go, shoving them further into the room where they stumbled, trying to catch their balance. 

“Who are you?” Shadow Weaver asked immediately, staring down at Finn with narrowed eyes.

They began backing up in hopes of putting more space between them and her, their tail twitching between their legs and their eyes darting around the room, desperately searching for an escape. “I’m a cadet,” They tried weakly. “F-from another squad-”

They were suddenly frozen in place. A jolt of electricity went through them, burning where it danced across their skin and running like acid through their veins. They couldn’t scream, immobilized as they were, but a strangled sound gurgled in their throat.

Then they were released, falling back on their behind as they gasped for breath. Tears welled up in their eyes.

“Don’t attempt to _lie_ to me, child, I’m not as dumb as others you’ve encountered,” Shadow Weaver warned them venomously. “I know you’re not from here. Who _are you_?”

“My n-name is Finn,” They told, the tears spilling over onto their cheeks. “I-I’m from the future, my moms’ are Adora and Catra. I don’t want to make any trouble, I just want-” They sobbed. “I just want to go home, really.”

The white slits of Shadow Weavers masks widened, but she didn’t seem surprised or disbelieving of their answer. “Adora and Catras' child... Well, Catras’ influence is certainly clear,” She said disdainfully before moving on. “And what is this magic you possess?”

Finn blinked blankly, genuinely confused. “W-what?”

Another shock of red lightning encircled them. They cried out, curling in on themself as if that would protect them.

“I felt it from the moment I saw you,” Shadow Weaver drawled, the magic falling away, leaving Finn heaving from hiccups with their arms wrapped around themself where they kneeled on the floor. “It’s like nothing I have ever felt before. I _know_ the unruly magic of a child just learning to wield their powers, but yours is unrestrained in a different way. Why?”

Finn gulped, expecting another zap for their answer. “I don’t know.”

They didn’t get shocked at least. Instead, Shadow Weaver leaned in towards them, drawing out her question slowly like speaking to a young child, “ _Where_ does your magic _come from_?”

“E-Etheria?” Finn said, relieved to have an answer to that at least. “Everyone is connected to- to it’s magic ever since my mom freed the Heart of Etheria. I don’t use it though!” They promised quickly.

Shadow Weaver stepped back with a breath. “The Heart of Etheria,” She uttered quietly, almost reverently. “There were rumors in Mystacor but…”

Her attention snapped back to Finn. “I am certain your mothers’ will be looking for a way to bring you back by now, and if you got here I have no doubt they will be able to as well,” She said. “I’m _very_ interested to hear more of how Adora accessed the Heart. We’ll wait for them together.”

Despite the malice in her voice and the obvious beginnings of a plan she was formulating Finn hoped that she was right, and that their moms would show up to save them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So who wants Shadow Weaver to die (again), sound off.  
> Thank you so much for all of your support and enthusiasm, I appreciate every single one of the wonderfully kind comments I've gotten, even if I only respond to some of them. Love you guys
> 
> My tumblr: [here](https://bookwormpride.tumblr.com/)


	6. Chapter 6

Finn's ears swiveled forward at the sound of heavy footsteps on metal outside the Black Garnet Chamber door. Their heart leapt hopefully, their breath held as they waited.

After what must have been an hour at most but felt like a lifetime their moms were finally there. Shadow Weaver had been right, whether that was a good thing or not Finn was relieved.

Shadow Weaver heard the footsteps too and flicked her hand to raise the door, revealing their mom and mama sprinting towards the room. Adora already had her sword in hand, though she hadn’t transformed, and Catras lips curled up in a snarl when she saw Shadow Weaver standing there.

Finn jumped to their feet, tears pricking at their eyes again. Their mama was already opening her arms as she and Adora slid into the room, prepared to accept them into an embrace as Finn ran towards her-

They were frozen midstep in a red glow, stopped from going any further.

“Finn!” Adora cried in alarm.

Catra whipped around to growl at Shadow Weaver, a deep, threatening rumble rising from deep in her chest as she bared her teeth. “Let them go,” She demanded. “Or so help me-”

“I see age hasn’t taught you any respect,” Shadow Weaver tutted, stepping into Finn's line of sight.

Catra sneered. “Not for you, you old fu-”

“What do you want, Shadow Weaver?” Adora interjected, her eyes like steel as she stared her down.

“Adora,” Shadow Weaver said with a sickly sweetness dripping from her tone. “Look how you’ve grown! You look powerful, I knew you would bec-”

“We’re here for Finn,” Adora cut off coldly, her eyes briefly darting to them, scanning them up and down for injury, before returning to glare at the woman before her.

“Of course, you must have been _terribly_ worried. Take them,” Shadow Weaver said calmly, as if simply having a casual conversation over lunch and wasn't outnumbered by two furious warriors. “I’m fairly sure Catras genes diluted any talent they might have inherited from you, Adora-”

Catra snarled again.

“And the last thing I need is another insolent half-breed distracting you- well, your _younger_ self,” She continued with a flippant wave of her hand. She glanced at Catra distastefully. “Though, I see I fail to convince you to raise your standards for who you associate with...”

“ _Don’t_ talk about them like that,” Catra spit.

“You will _not_ insult our child,” Adora snapped at the same time, her grip on the hilt of her sword tightening until her knuckles were white. Finn didn’t think they’d ever seen their mom look so angry. “And you’re right, you _didn’t_ drive us apart, but you did try your hardest,” She said with a bitter laugh. “Catra is my _wife_. Your opinion doesn’t matter anymore. Now give us Finn if you say we can take them.”

“I simply mean to say that while I have no desire to keep them here, there _was_ something they told me about while we were _chatting_ that I’m intrigued by,” Shadow Weaver mused. 

She walked up to Adora, who stood her ground but shifted uncomfortably at the proximity. “I always knew you would be capable of great things, Adora, but never could I have imagined that you would tap into the power of the Heart of Etheria.”

Adora faltered, her firm stance slackening just a bit. “The Heart of Etheria? What about it?”

Shadow Weaver raised a hand to tap on the pale, heart-shaped scar on Adoras chest that was exposed by the low collar of her shirt. Adora flinched at her touch, but Shadow Weaver didn’t back off. “The Heart is rumored to hold more power than any sorceress could ever hope to command, more than a runestone even. It was said to unleash it would destroy a mere mortal, but once it’s released…”

Her hand rose from Adoras chest towards her cheek, open palmed and gentle.

Adora caught the appendage by the wrist before it could make contact. “Are you asking for the Heart of Etheria?” She questioned in a low voice.

“Finn told me you released it once. The Heart is still contained in this time. All I want is for you to take it, and transfer the power to me,” Shadow Weaver said.

Catra instantly tensed, her tail swishing agitatedly. “Adora almost died the first time she took the Heart, not that you _care_ about that, but she’s not doing it again!” 

Adora was silent. Her gaze slid to Finn again. She bit her bottom lip, her expression full of confliction. Finn continued attempting to fight against the halo of magic holding them still, to break out of it and take away Shadow Weavers leverage and save their mom from the choice she was faced with.

They couldn’t move so much as a finger.

Then Adora closed her eyes, exhaling heavily. Just above a whisper, she conceded, “Okay.”

“Adora?!” Catra yelled.

“Hush, Catra, your input is neither needed nor wanted,” Shadow Weaver hissed.

“She _has Finn_!” Adora pleaded to Catra, gesturing wildly to them. Her voice broke. “What am I supposed to do?!”

“I knew I could expect understanding from you, Adora,” Shadow Weaver said sweetly, reaching her hands out again, this time for Adoras shoulder.

Adora pulled away sharply. “I’m not doing this for you,” She said. “I’m doing it for Finn, and if you do _anything_ to hurt them the deal is off.”

Shadow Weaver gave a single nod. Despite no visible indication of emotion, Finn swore they could feel the smug air coming off her.

“Then let's go.” Adora said monotonously. “The Heart is in the Crystal Castle.”

* * *

Catra almost couldn’t believe the stroke of luck.

Of course, seeing their child frozen and held hostage by Shadow Weaver, being insulted like she hadn’t been since the hag died, and having her tag along on their journey back home wasn’t exactly ideal. But they needed to go back to the Crystal Castle anyway, and tricking Shadow Weaver into giving them Finn was preferable to having to fight her while she still had their child in her clutches.

With Adora’s mock-surrender Shadow Weaver dissolved the magic holding Finn.

As soon as they were released Finn made to run toward them. “Mom, you can’t-”

And didn’t get a step in before they were stopped by Shadow Weavers hand grabbing them by the arm and yanking them back. “Let me go, let _go_!” They protested, writhing and pulling against her grip.

Catra wanted to tear Shadow Weavers hand off at the wrist. She had to bite her tongue to stop herself from breaking from her pretend defeat.

“It’s okay Finn, it’s okay,” Adora tried to comfort as much as she could from across the room. 

“Mom, _no_!”

“Just trust me, baby,” Adora urged desperately. “Please.”

“Lead the way,” Shadow Weaver said blasely, as though the pained chaos of the family unfolding before her wasn't her doing.

The four of them started back through the Fright Zone. The sky was starting to turn the burnt-orange of moonset through the smog, soldiers and cadets on their free time post-dinner milling about in pairs and groups.

As they passed the armory tower Catra heard a laugh. Her head snapped towards the sound, and there, playfully pushing each other as they strolled towards the doors that would lead to the deck above and then the overhang that always felt like it was _theirs_ in it’s secludedness, was her and Adoras younger selves. 

The girls were far enough away, and too caught up in their fun to notice them back, but Catra elbowed Adora next to her, bringing her attention to them as well.

As Catra had teased earlier, little-Adora had her hair poof, and hadn’t even yet gotten her signature red jacket that she would wear for years to come. Catras own past-self was a scruffy ball of fur, her bangs hanging in her eyes without the mask that would later become something of a shield until it was discarded, and her gaze on Adora when she wasn’t looking full of the longing Catra remembered so well.

They looked so tiny to Catra now. Growing up in the Fright Zone hadn’t left them a lot of innocence no matter their age, but looking at the two young teens Catra ached for all they were going to go through, the years of hardship and pain ahead of them that they had no clue were coming.

But then she felt Adora squeeze her hand, a nostalgic fondness on her face.

Across from them the girls broke into a sprint, Catras ears just faintly picking up her own yell of “first one to the top is a moldy ration bar!”

It would be hard, losing each other the worst of it all. But, they would come back together better for each other, and their relationship would be more wonderful than little-Catra ever dared to hope.

When all this was over Catra and Adora, with Finn, would return to their small cottage home with large windows that let in light and fresh air, and a kitchen stocked with all their favorites, and a sad-looking garden out back that they kept trying to make grow. She would feel safe in her bed, and in Adoras arms.

It was a life that would have been unimaginable to her younger self, but it was her future as much as the suffering was - maybe even more so. 

Those two young girls Catra watched playfully pushing each other as they fought to get in the door first were going to be okay.

With Shadow Weaver no one questioned the group as they took a skiff from the transport bay and were soon flying through sandy hills towards the Whispering Woods. Adora steered while Catra stood cross-armed at her side, watching Shadow Weavers every move at the back of the vehicle with Finn.

“How are you doing, hon?” Catra asked Finn gently. She ached to reach out and wipe their tear stained cheeks, to pull them into her arms where she could protect them better, but that would have to wait until they were away from Shadow Weaver. “We’ll be home soon.”

Finn nodded jerkily, shaken and still teary. They gave a quick upturn of their lips, not quite a smile but an attempt “Tired,” They admitted in an uncharacteristically small voice. “I don’t think the Horde believes in breaks”

Catra managed a forced-sounding chuckle. She nodded back. “Why do you think I started skipping?”

In the distance a spire rose up above the tops of the trees, reaching towards the empty navy sky above. Catra had gotten so used to the stars over Etheria that she had almost forgotten how dark the sky had once at night, like a black sea stretching uninterrupted towards the horizon.

The skiff slowed to a stop at the base of the Crystal Castle. Adora and Catra jumped down first, but when Adora turned to help Finn to the ground Shadow Weaver shot her a glare and purposely got off in a way that blocked them from her.

“Come on,” Adora grumbled. “We access the Heart inside.”

After coming from the wrecked Crystal Castle of their time, the Crystal Castle from decades ago seemed in downright pristine condition despite the crumbling pillars and layer of dust coating everything. There were no piles of rubble or cracks snaking up the walls or glitching lights. It was how Catra remembered it looking the first time she had been there, only a few years after the time they were in.

“ _Don’t_ touch _anything_ ,” Adora stressed with a stern look over her shoulder at the three of them behind her. “The defenses are still active and _will_ attack intruders.”

“Your creepy hologram friend isn’t going to show up, is she?” Catra asked in an attempt to lighten the mood.

Instead, Adoras expression darkened. “Stars, I hope not,” She muttered.

“How _did_ you come to access the Heart of Etheria, Adora?” Shadow Weaver asked as they started down the corridor.

Adora regarded her out of the corner of her eye. “It was thanks to you, actually,” She said quietly. “We… we needed to stop the Heart from being used to destroy the planet. You knew about the failsafe in Mystacor. You got Catra and I to the Heart…”

“It is so rewarding to hear that I was the one to help you reach the greatness you were always destined to,” Shadow Weaver boasted.

“Like I said, she almost died, but that didn’t bother you then either,” Catra said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. A part of her wanted to tell Shadow Weaver of her demise, that she had let herself be killed on the way, and that her one last grand act of manipulation had turned out to be the best thing she ever did even if it had haunted Catra for years, just so she could see Shadow Weaver's reaction to such news of her mortality.

She refrained, however tempting it was.

“Adora is strong,” Shadow Weaver dismissed. “If I encouraged her it’s because I knew she could take it, your jealousy is-”

“It’s not about jealousy,” Catra exploded, turning on Shadow Weaver with her tail going straight as a staff behind her. “I _was_ jealous, I thought Adora had it so much better than me, at least she wasn’t your _punching bag_!

“But now I’m just _furious_ ,” She jabbed a clawed finger at her. Half-hidden beside Shadow Weaver Finn watched with wide eyes. A still-rational part of Catra thought she should reel herself in in front of them, but another, much stronger part, felt the opportunity to lay into Shadow Weaver after all these years and after being provoked since they arrived was too good to pass up. “You made her give and give and give, everything she had, _all_ her life, until she didn’t even think twice about _sacrificing_ herself-”

“I wouldn’t expect you to understand, Catra,” Shadow Weaver sighed. “You were never as dedicated as Adora.”

“Dedicated?!” Catra exclaimed. “Is that what you call giving up her free time to train _more_ , because nine hours a day wasn’t _enough_ , because she had to be the _best_? Is that what you call waking her up in the middle of the night to ‘test her reflexes-’”

“She had to be prepared,” Shadow Weaver insisted.

“-Or making her start studying for Force Captain when we were _fourteen_ ,” Catra continued over her. “Or telling her any mistake was inexcusable - even _my_ mistakes? If you think-”

“Catra,” Adora broke through her rant with a hand on her shoulder.

She realized her chest was heaving with each breath and her entire body thrummed with excess energy like she was going into battle.

“It doesn’t matter right now,” Adora said, her eyes locking with Catras imploringly.

Catra fumed. Adora was right. They were so close to being out of here, to going home with Finn and returning to a time when Shadow Weaver was gone and they would never have to see her again. What she had done to them, to both of them, was in the past. Telling her off, while it felt good, would ultimately accomplish nothing but keeping them there longer.

She let out a breath, and with a last cutting look at Shadow Weaver Catra faced ahead again, allowing them to continue on their way.

“Thank you, though,” Adora said, so quietly only Catra at her side would hear. She gave her a subdued, but grateful smile.

Finally they reached the center of the temple - the room with the pedestal they would use to take them home.

“Wait here,” Adora told them, walking up the platform. As she reached the middle of the walkway the hologram appeared, its projection still smooth and it’s computerized voice steady.

Catra held her breath, out of the corner of her eye analyzing everyone's positions and judging how fast she could grab Finn before Shadow Weaver intervened.

“Greetings, administrator, what is your query?” The hologram asked.

Adora took a breath, and yelled, “Activate time portal!” 

The center of the platform lit up.

Shadow Weaver bristled at Catras side, realizing what was happening. “What?!” She screeched. “No!”

She made to pull Finn closer with the hand still holding them by the shoulder, but, to Catras great pride and delight, they dug their claws into her forearm and tore down hard, ripping the fabric of her robes sleeve and, likely, the flesh underneath. 

Shadow Weaver howled and let go, and Finn took off away from her. They didn’t get far before she immobilized them in place and then wheeled around on Adora, sending a blast of solid shadow at her that sent her flying through the air to land on the other side of the room with a groan.

Catra leapt at her back, claws extended, but just in time Shadow Weaver turned. With a wave of her hand she encased Catra in darkness, pinning her arms to her side and knocking her to the floor where she struggled against the magic. 

“You thought you could trick me?!” Shadow Weaver cried.

“For the honor of Grayskull!” Catra heard Adora cry somewhere out of her line of sight, accompanied by a flash of light that lit up the room.

Shadow Weaver appeared surprised for just a moment at the revelation of Adoras princess persona, the white slits of her eyes going wide and recoiling just slightly, but as Adora lunged she was quick to put up a wall of shadow in her way. Adoras raised sword sunk into the darkness only to become stuck as it solidified around the blade. She pulled at it uselessly, giving a frustrated growl.

The attack had distracted Shadow Weaver just enough that the magic fell away from Catra and Finn. Catra got to her feet, while Finn raced to the edge of the room and stood back. Adora finally pulled her sword free with a great tug that caused the shadow wall around it to crack and break apart.

Catra began sneaking up behind Shadow Weaver, if Adora could just keep her distracted-

“You would risk returning home without your child?” Shadow Weaver laughed wickedly.

Hearing the underlying threat in the words Catra veered. She ran towards Finn just as she saw it: the line of black with red lightning arcing through it, aimed right at Finn - who stood frozen in wide-eyed panic as they watched it come, with Adora too far away to deflect the blast.

She jumped in front of it, taking the assault herself.

Catra fell to the floor on her knees, wrapped in crimson electricity that crackled through her like fire, causing her muscles to tense until she was sure she was going to break every bone in her body, every part of her aching and stinging and burning.

“Mama!” She heard Finn's distressed cry behind her, at the same time as she heard Adoras horrified, “Catra!” 

She grit her teeth, bit back the scream that wanted to escape her. Bitterly, she thought it was good that she had a whole childhood of practice taking it silently so as not to give Shadow Weaver the satisfaction of hearing her pain, so that she could do it again to not upset Finn or distract Adora from taking the witch down now.

It wasn’t long, she had been punished by Shadow Weaver in the same way longer as a child, before the magic stopped. She blinked, slightly disoriented as she tried to catch her breath and readjust to a body _not_ wracked by pain. 

Then she saw why the magic had gone out so quickly - Shadow Weaver forced to use both hands and all her concentration to pull up a shield of black energy to block She-Ras onslaught of energy blasts from her sword.

Finn slammed into Catras side, their arms around her torso and their face full of worry as they looked up at her. She began picking herself up, wincing at the linger ache in her limbs. “I’m okay,” She promised them. “Just stay here, I’m going to-”

The room shook. Adora gave a scream of exertion as she sent a particularly large volley from her sword. It hit Shadow Weavers force field and broke through as easily as tearing through paper, blasting the sorceress back into the wall.

Catra grabbed Finn's arm. “Come on!”

Adora was already on the pedestal, transforming the room around them into Brightmoons throne room, exactly how it had looked when they left. She waited for them, anxiously keeping an eye on Shadow Weaver, who wasn’t moving but for the rise and fall of her chest, as they raced up to her.

“Can’t I kick her just once?” Catra asked breathlessly as they joined her on the pedestal.

“Catra!”

“Kidding!” Catra placated.

Together, the three of them ran off the edge of the platform.

And materialized in the empty throne room. Dusk was starting to fall outside, and the smell of the Brightmoon gardens replaced the musty, old air of the temple. Catra could hear the guards on their shift outside the door talking quietly.

She could have cried from relief.

Then Finn flung themself at her, and she pulled them into her chest, wrapping herself around them as she sank to the marble floor under her on weak legs. She was definitely crying then.

Adora, having dropped her She-Ra form, slid in next to them, an arm around each as they all huddled together in the middle of the throne room.

“You’re okay,” Adora remarked, tucking Finn's head under her chin. “ _You’re okay_.”

“Mom,” Finn breathed shakily. “Mama.”

Catra took Finn's hand from their lap and squeezed it. They held on tightly, their fingers trembling in hers. “We’re home, it’s okay,” She told them, rocking the three of them slightly. “You were _so_ brave.”

“And you,” Adora said firmly, making Catra look up to meet wet eyes full of admiration and love over the top of Finns’ head. She freed a hand from holding Finn to cup Catras cheek. “ _Thank you_ ,” She exhaled. “For stopping her from…” 

She didn’t finish the thought, instead she surged forward to press her forehead to Catras with Finn between them. “Never again,” She promised. Catra felt her shake her head. “She’ll _never_ hurt you again.”

Catra nodded, her throat suddenly feeling thick at the reassurance that made the dizzying reality of everything that just happened sink in. “‘Was worth it to see you blow her away,” She joked weakly.

“I’m sorry,” Finn whimpered, tears rolling off their cheeks to leave wet spots on Adoras shirt. “I’m so sorry, I d-didn’t mean to make you-”

“No. No, It’s alright,” Catra stopped them fervently, reaching out to wipe a tear track from their face with her thumb and brush a piece of hair behind their ear. “We were just _so scared_.”

Finn sobbed, nodding rapidly, but still repeated, “I’m sorry.”

Catra pulled them into her embrace once more as Adora began rubbing a hand up and down their back.

“We love you so much, Finn,” Adora said softly.

“I love you guys, too,” Finn whispered, resting their head just below Catras collarbone. “Thank you… for everything.”

It was a while before the three of them found the energy and the inclination to rise from the floor of the throne room, but the call of home, of eating a late dinner and putting Finn to bed and curling up on the couch with her feet in Adoras lap and Melog next to her, eventually tempted Catra to rise.

She picked Finn up with her. They were still awake - if just barely - but certainly looked exhausted, and besides, she had no desire to let them go just yet. Without a word they put their arms around her neck and nestled their head into the crook of her shoulder, their face half buried in her hair.

Adora pressed a kiss to Finn's forehead, and then to Catras lips, and wrapped an arm around her waist, and together they started towards home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Epilogue to come, folks, and then we're done!  
> Fun thing to imagine after this chapter: Shadow Weaver coming to, alone, in an ancient ruin that she had to find her way out of, taking the skiff back to the Fright Zone, furious and probably with a concussion. Yeah, I like that image
> 
> My tumblr: [here](https://bookwormpride.tumblr.com/)


	7. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is just pure fluff with some much needed hurt/comfort and closure sprinkled in

Finn had never been happier to get into their bed.

After a meal of hot, cheesy comfort food, a shower to wash away any remaining traces of the Fright Zone from their fur, and changing into their favorite super soft pajamas, they crawled under the covers while their mom settled in beside them with a brush.

“Your hair is getting so long,” Adora remarked as she began pulling the brush through the hair on the unshaved side of their head. “And you still want to keep it blonde?” Finn nodded rapidly, hearing her sigh disappointedly. “Your brown was such a nice color.”

“You only say that because it’s the same as mamas,” Finn rolled their eyes.

She chuckled lightly. “You got me.”

Finn found themself relaxing into the gentle drag of the brush against their scalp, leaning into it and trying to suppress a purr from starting up in their chest. They usually complained the whole time their mom brushed their hair and they still had _some_ appearances to keep up.

Mama appeared in the doorway, a glass of water in hand and Melog at her side. They came in, their mama putting the glass on the bedside table and sitting on Finns’ other side while Melog leapt up onto the bed and draped themself over their lap with a nice, grounding weight.

“I heard back from Glimmer,” Catra announced. “Lumina is begging to see you but she’s grounded until further notice. So, she’ll probably be teleporting in here some time tomorrow.”

Finn felt a pang of guilt for their friend being punished for aiding in their mischief, and for how much they must have scared Lumina and Flora when they disappeared without a trace.

Adoras voice cut into the beginning of their guilt spiral before it could get very far. “I give it three days before Bow ungrounds her,” She said.

“A week,” Catra rebutted. She reasoned, “It’s going to make it worse when Glimmer finds out she snuck here.”

Finn looked up at their mom. “Do you have to tell Auntie Glimmer _right_ away?” They asked hopefully, giving their most pleading look. “Can’t Lue stay for just a little bit?”

Adora pursed her lips, but the amused light in her eyes told Finn they had won. “She can stay for an _hour_ ,” She amended. 

“And I’m telling Glimmer I wasn’t home,” Catra said. “Not getting in the way of that wrath.”

All three of them laughed. It felt good, like a weight lifting off Finns chest after bearing down on them since they accidentally set foot in the Fright Zone the day before.

Reminded of their accidental-adventure they quickly sobered, settling back into the pillows behind them with a sigh. Melog lifted their head to look at them inquisitively.

Catra put a hand on their shoulder. “How are you doing, bud?” She asked gently.

Finn hesitated, mulling over their question, before they said quietly, “Can I ask you guys something?”

“Anything,” Adora promised.

Finn took a breath. They kept their eyes down, staring at the blanket as they spoke. “I saw… Shadow Weaver, before she got me,” Finn said in a trembling voice. They gulped, peeking at mama. “She hurt you, she- she did the thing with Aunt Scorpias lightning to you… just because you talked back...”

Catra nodded solemnly. “Sounds about right,” She said.

They turned to their mom. “And mama said that- that she made you not care about yourself? And that you couldn’t make any mistakes ever! And I heard her blame you for your squad doing bad in a simulation but- but that wasn’t your fault!”

“You’re right,” Adora agreed.

Finn's eyes stung with tears at the seeming nonchalance of their responses, when they themself were so disturbed and angry about what they saw and heard. “I k-know you guys told me she wasn’t very nice but I didn’t know she… Why did she...”

“You know, I’ve spent a long time wondering why too,” Catra said as their throat became too tight to finish the question. She passed a hand between their shoulder blades soothingly. “Shadow Weaver was always looking for more power, just like how she used you to try to get the Heart. She was always doing stuff like that.”

“When you look at everyone by what they can do for you you never really care about them,” Adora said.

“It took me a long time, but I realized it doesn’t really matter why,” Catra continued with a shake of her head. “Maybe your mom was just means to an end and I was just something to take her anger out on, or maybe she actually thought she was doing what was best for us,” She shrugged. “It doesn’t make how she treated us okay, and any reason, any motivation that she might have had, doesn’t change that. Does that make sense?”

Finn nodded shakily, chewing on their bottom lip fretfully. They still couldn’t chase the image of their mama on the floor, wrapped in red electricity from their mind. 

The tears began to spill over onto their cheeks, and before they knew it they found themself being pulled into their mama's lap. She hugged them tight, her cheek pressed to the top of their head and Finn clutched at her, sniffling.

They whispered, almost scared of the answer, “Did she hurt you a lot?”

“Sometimes,” Catra admitted gently. “But it’s over now. I’m okay.”

Adora ran a hand over Finns head, scratching lightly behind their ears, until they calmed, their ear pressed against their mama's chest where they could hear the steady beat of her heart.

After a while they broke the quiet, their voice muffled by their mamas shirt. “The Horde was awful,” They said. “But when I met you guys… it was like... it was like you were happy, at least some of the time?”

Catra smiled down at them. “We were,” She said.

Finn pushed themself away from her chest to look at both their moms properly, their eyebrows drawn together with confusion. “But all you ever did was train, and you didn’t have- you didn’t even have toys! And everyone was so mean! I don’t get- how could… I don’t think I would ever be happy there, so...”

Their mom gave a rueful chuckle. “The Horde _was_ awful,” She conceded. “But, you know, we didn’t really have anything to compare it to at the time.”

“We made the best of a _really bad_ situation,” Catra added. “We had our own games, and we played with just about anything we could find - seriously, one time your mom and I found this huge, old pipe in the scrap yard and we played with it for _weeks_.”

“I remember that!” Adora chimed in with a delighted smile. “We pretended it was a cave! And then a tank and we were driving it all over Etheria-”

“And then you fell off and it rolled over you,” Catra snickered at the memory. She settled and brought her focus back to Finn, a joyful lilt remaining in her voice. “And we had each other, everyone else _was_ mean and we had to train all day and the food sucked, but at least we were together...”

Finn glanced over to see that their mom was looking at her with that shiny-eyed, breath-taken stare that usually meant they were going to start being sappy and gross. Finn was about to groan when she composed herself with a breath and turned to them.

“She’s right,” Adora nodded, still sounding weepy. She reached out to cup their cheek tenderly. “And that you know you wouldn’t be happy there makes us _so_ proud. Like I said, we had nothing to compare it to, but you do. You know that’s not the way things should be.”

Finn had a million more questions, a million more things they wanted to tell them about, but unfortunately they were betrayed by their exhaustion forcing a yawn out of them. 

“You should get some sleep,” Adora said.

Catra lifted Finn from her lap and her and Adora got off the bed to pull the covers up around them, and Finn lost any will to protest the imposed bedtime. After sleeping in a Horde cot their bed felt extra soft and their blankets extra warm, and their eyelids were already beginning to droop.

“You know, you guys saved me from some robots in training,” Finn said as their mom passed them their old boar stuffy from the shelf.

“Of course Little Miss Show Off here did,” Catra joked with a playful roll of her eyes and a jab of her thumb at Adora. 

Adora sent a glare Catras' way, then pressed a kiss to Finn's forehead. “You can tell us all about how cool we were tomorrow.”

“How cool _I_ was, you were just a dork,” Catra teased, elbowing her as she rounded the bed for the door. She scratched at Finns ear. “We love you, kiddo. Sleep well.”

Finn muttered an I love you back as they left, flicking off the lights and closing the door behind them, and Finn settled in to sleep, knowing their moms were nearby if they needed them.

* * *

The map Adora had been working on recently was rolled out in front of her on the floor, but she hadn’t added a single line to it since she sat down, her thoughts wandering away every time she tried to focus and the warmth of the fire in front of her tempting her to give in to sleep.

She felt something hard bonk the side of her head, and looked up to Catra holding two mugs with a crooked smile. “Here,” She offered one to Adora, who gratefully took it, then plopped herself on the floor next to her.

“Hey, you don’t think we should have, I don’t know, grounded them or something?” Adora wondered. Despite Finn's penchant for troublemaking they had never gotten themself into a situation that Adora and Catra had felt the need to punish them for since they were young enough for time outs.

“Nah, it was an accident. Besides,” Catra leaned back, closing her eyes as she soaked in the heat coming off the fireplace. “Meeting Shadow Weavers old ass is punishment enough.”

Adora snorted, and Catra opened one eye to smirk at her before she too started snickering, and soon enough they were leaning into each other with peels of laughter, attempting to keep the noise down so as to not wake their hopefully-sleeping kid down the hall.

As the laughter melted away they remained pressed together, Adora's forehead on Catras shoulder and Catras arm wrapped loosely around her back.

Adora remembered Finn saying that they couldn’t be happy in the Fright Zone, and their horror at Shadow Weavers treatment of them, and the way they had giggled at dinner as a string of cheese stubbornly kept stretching from their bowl, and how they hugged Melog when they got home with happy purrs rumbling from both felines.

“I think we’ve done pretty good,” Adora whispered against Catras collarbone, pressing a kiss to the skin there. Pride bloomed in her chest as warm as the fire.

Catra didn’t have to ask what Adora meant, she simply nodded. They had saved kingdoms, saved the world, restored the universe, but the life they had made for themselves and Finn after it all would always be the best thing they had ever done.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, I'm so grateful to every single one of you who left kudos and comments on this fic. It was my first ever multi-chapter fanfiction, and one that I'm really proud of, and I'm glad you all enjoyed it too! Honestly I wish I could just keep writing domestic catradora family fluff as it is so good for the soul, and I do have thoughts on what happens after this, but I've got some other ideas I'm working on right now, that hopefully will pan out ;)
> 
> My tumblr [here](https://bookwormpride.tumblr.com/)


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